1.Ten years of controversy at EFSA: time to tackle industry bias and reclaim food safety!
2.EFSA cosies up to the biotech industry again!

NOTE: Item 2 is just a reminder of some of the many problems with the European Food Safety Authority - EFSA - that desperately need to be tackled.
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1.Ten years of controversy at EFSA: time to tackle industry bias and reclaim food safety!
 http://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/36-news-from-the-regions/1327

5 November 2012

Brussels - Media Invitation from Corporate Europe Observatory, the Italian anti-GMO Task Force, the European Coordination Via Campesina and FIRAB

A farmers and citizens conference marking the 10th anniversary of EFSA

WHEN:  12 November 2012 - from 16.00 till 19.30

WHERE: Aula Magna Economy Faculty - University of Parma
Via Kennedy 6, Parma, Italy

Manifestation and press conference, 13 November – from 10.30h-12.00 in front of EFSA, Via Carlo Magno 1A, Parma

As the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) celebrates its 10th anniversary with several events, experts, farmers, food campaigners, MEPs, and members of the public are gathering  in a farmers' and citizens' conference to examine the question of industry's influence over EU food safety rules, and ask how to better protect public health and the environment.

In several cases, scientific advice delivered by EFSA has been dogged by controversy. This conference will look at ongoing concerns about industry influence, the science used for food safety and environmental risk assessment, and will ask what steps can be taken to prevent regulatory capture by industry.

Case studies on aspartame and GM will be presented.

Fiorella Belpoggi from the Fondazione Ramazzini will talk about worrying studies done on the food additive aspartame which were ignored by EFSA.

Christoph Then from TestBiotech will focus on the flawed GMO risk assessment process as designed by EFSA.

Nina Holland, from Corporate Europe Observatory, Andrea Ferrante, from the European Coordination Via Campesina and Monica Frassoni, co-president of the Green European Party, will address the problems surrounding EFSA, conflicts of interest, and industry science.

Jose Bove, from the Green Group of the European Parliament; Christophe Morvan, from Fondation Sciences Citoyennes; Cinzia Scaffidi, for the Italian anti-GMO Task Force; and Jose Manuel Benitez, from COAG, will take part in a political roundtable on solutions for a sustainable food system.

Translation will be provided from and into Italian, English, French and Spanish.

RSVP to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

On 13 November from 10.30, a manifestation will be organised in front of the EFSA building with photo opportunity and press conference.

For more information about the conference,  please contact:
Luca Colombo, FIRAB, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , tel: +39 348 39 88 618
Nina Holland, CEO, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., tel: +31 630 285 042

For more information about manifestation, please contact:
Andrea Ferrante, European Coordination Via Campesina , This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , tel:+393480189221
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2.EFSA cosies up to the biotech industry again!
www.gmwatch.org/latest-listing/38-1999/14373

[Extract only]

...Lobbying scandals have plagued EU institions, as shown by the resignation earlier this month of the European Commissioner responsible for health and consumer affairs, including GMOs, John Dalli, because of the results of an anti-fraud investigation centered on tobacco lobbying. The Commission's cavalier attitude to the lobbying issue was also reflected in its nomination a few months back of a leading food industry lobbyist and former Monsanto employee to EFSA's Management Board.
 http://www.testbiotech.org/en/node/631

And EFSA itself has faced repeated complaints over its cosy relationship with industry. Its handling of conflicts of interest has drawn criticism from both the EU's Court of Auditors and the European Parliament, with the Parliament even postponing approval of EFSA's budget over the issue.
 http://www.gmwatch.org/latest-listing/51-2012/14315

Also earlier this year, EFSA admitted to the European ombudsman that it had not properly responded to the case of Suzy Renckens, the former head of EFSA's GMO unit, who left EFSA and moved directly to a lobbying job with GM giant Syngenta. Then there was the head of EFSA's management board who was finally forced to resign back in May because of her continuing relationship with the food and biotech industry lobby group the International Life Sciences Institute Europe (ILSI). And then there's the complaint currently with the EU ombudsman over the alleged ties to ILSI of the man who chaired EFSA's GMO panel for almost a decade.
 http://www.gmwatch.org/latest-listing/51-2012/13910

ILSI also influenced the OECD Guidelines on risk assessment that EFSA used in its criticisms of Seralini's recent paper, even though it has been shown that EFSA does not always apply those guidelines to studies that support the safety of GMOs!
 http://www.testbiotech.de/sites/default/files/the%20double%20standards%20of%20EFSA_0.pdf

In the context of these double standards and multiple conflicts of interest, for EFSA to be participating in a biotech industry lobbies' workshop on how to assess the risks of GMOs could hardly be more inappropriate.
 http://www.europabio.org/agricultural/positions/workshop-risk-assessment-requirements-gm-food-and-feed-respect-toxicology-and